In 2007, Senator Chuck Grassley, ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, launched an investigation into the finances of six major Christian ministry organizations. Thank you, Senator Grassley, for bringing attention to the excesses of a few! They needed the exposure and those that have refused to comply with requests for financial records have indicted themselves!
At the end of the Civil War, large portions of the South had been destroyed. As the nation struggled to recover and rebuild, huge amounts of money were being used in the devastated areas for the massive rebuilding effort. As we have seen in modern-day Iraq, when large amounts of money pour into an area for rebuilding, some of the funds get spent without proper oversight, and finances and materials simply disappear, taken by the unscrupulous.
During the rebuilding of the South, a group of unscrupulous profiteers appeared and took advantage of the haze and fog of the aftermath of war. The profiteers became known as “carpetbaggers” because they traveled light and fast. The carpetbaggers quickly moved into devastated areas that were rebuilding and spread the word about their alleged specialties of building and engineering. They made outrageous claims of what they had done in other areas and they used their personal charm and charisma to gain access to the overworked and overburdened local government leaders. The carpetbaggers set up offices and shell companies and as soon as they had money and supplies coming their direction, they took the money and ran, leaving the devastated areas worse off than when they had arrived. The hopes and dreams of the vanquished about rebuilding and getting on with their lives were smashed to new lows by the immoral and unethical carpetbaggers.
I have said before that when a neglected truth is brought back to the forefront, there is often an overstatement of the validity of the truth. Some will take the truth and push it too far; they overstate it and overemphasize it. Usually after a period of time, balance is achieved and the truth settles into a prominent position without the excesses.
There will always be some who take extreme positions on what Christians should have or not have in the way of material possessions. Some say that Christians should have little or nothing; they seem to espouse a form of socialism. These folks put an inappropriate spin on Acts 4:32-36 and try to suggest that this proves that Christian socialism is the right way—and they are wrong.
Others say that if you plant your financial seed in the right place, usually into their ministry, you are going to reap a 30-, 60- or 100-fold harvest, guaranteed! To prove their claims of God’s abundant blessing, they subtly let slip how well they are personally doing with their big homes, expensive clothes and new jet airplanes. To these preachers, these possessions are necessary props for their illustrated sermons. To successfully preach the prosperity message while living humbly and simply just won’t get the offerings; it doesn’t prove their point…or so they think.
The new carpetbaggers have brought confusion and disillusionment to the church instead of properly teaching that God will never be unfaithful to His people. He will always meet our needs (however, that doesn’t mean filet mignon when hamburger will do or a Rolls Royce when a Ford is more than adequate).
The new carpetbaggers do not properly teach what the blessing of God is and the purpose of His blessing. The whole of Psalm 67 is worthy of your spending some time reading. Verses one and two are especially potent about the blessing of the Lord and its purpose.
The carpetbaggers of the Civil War era operated on two levels. Publicly, they were gregarious and positive about what they could get done. Privately, they schemed and plotted and then they slipped away before anyone could discover their illegal and immoral plans. One of the “new” carpetbaggers had the audacity to run a letter on their ministry Website as an answer to Senator Grassley’s request for them to open their books and operation for public view. The published letter went to great pains to explain all the wonderful things the ministry does and to finally say, “No, we will not make our books available to the public, for we operate in privacy, not in secrecy.” To this statement, I reply, “Thank you…you have just defined yourself as a carpetbagger.”
And again to Senator Grassley, thank for doing what the church has been too cowardly to do. The refusal of several of the “televangelists” to be open about their finances and operations is their own indictment.
If the church cannot operate openly about finances, including salary and expenses, it is because there are things to hide.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Friday, July 18, 2008
HE ABSOLUTELY WILL NOT
It’s not easy to be unshaken by the enormity of cataclysmic events occurring in our world.
• A typhoon in Myanmar so devastating that we may never know its extent
• An earthquake in China that took the lives of 70,000 in just a few minutes
• California wildfires that are not being brought under control
• An economy that is teetering on the edge of disaster
• Gasoline/oil prices rising almost daily
• Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that just won’t end
• Iran’s president ranting and raving like a madman
• The collapse of a major bank in California
• The news media spreading fear like it was truth
And the list goes on and on and seems to grow daily.
If I understand biblical prophecy at all, these are the beginning of sorrows (Matthew 24:8) and we have not seen the worst yet. Does it seem to you that the tempo of disastrous events and change in the world is picking up?
As I reflected on the stressful times and was praying about circumstances that we are facing, the Lord led me to a wonderful promise. This is a word from the Lord that is as emphatic in its declaration of God’s care for us as the times we live in are difficult.
This is a powerful truth to wrap your arms around and hold tightly.
Hebrews 13:5-6 (NKJV):
Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
So we may boldly say: “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”
In the King James Version the word conduct is translated conversation. Conversation used in this way is an obsolete English way of saying conduct or behavior. The meaning here is clear and we understand that we are not to be driven by a desire to get things, to clutch and grasp at material things, for we have been promised something far greater.
This is an emphatic promise. In the original language, it would read something like this, “For He Himself has said, ‘I will not, I will not cease to sustain and uphold you; I will not abandon you or leave you helpless in dangerous or hostile circumstances.’”
We could properly read it this way, “I will not, I will not, I will not let you down, leave you in the lurch, leave you helpless or abandon you.”
How many times in Scripture do we read that the Father gets this strong and direct with us? For Him to repeat three times, “I will not!” means He doesn’t want us to miss the message. He is declaring, “For He Himself has said, I am not going to run off and leave you like that loved one did just when you needed him most; he didn’t follow through even though he said he loved you. I’m not going to break your heart and leave you alone, helpless and without defense. I am not going to make a promise and then not follow through. I will not, I will not, I will not!”
I am not a perfect dad, not by any stretch of the imagination or use of flowery language. There were times when I raised my voice to my children. (I tried that once with Carol and after I did, I didn’t see her for a week. On the eighth day, I was able to get my left eye open just a little.) I tried not to raise my voice with my daughters when I was upset about something, but only when I wanted them to understand how strongly I felt about the subject under discussion—not in anger, but only in intensity.
I believe the repetition in this verse is God raising His voice and showing His intensity because He wants us to get the message. He is not raising His voice in anger but just like a loving father, He is reassuring His children who are being buffeted on all sides and wondering what is next. Wondering if, in this developing catastrophe, we are going to suddenly be abandoned, lied to and let down by Him, too.
Sometimes the only way to quiet a tumultuous situation is to speak loudly and sharply enough to cut through the commotion and confusion. He raises His voice to cut through the chaos so that He can get our attention.
When confusion, anxiety and fear are all around, then God speaks directly to you and says, “I will not, I WILL NOT, I WILL NOT abandon you, leave you helpless and without defense. I WILL NOT!”
(One of my sermons, "The Peter Principle" has been posted on the web site of a church I recently visited in Great Bend, KS. If you are courageous enough to listen here is the website www.faith4greatbend.com
Simply click on Sermons and then on the name of yours truly.)
• A typhoon in Myanmar so devastating that we may never know its extent
• An earthquake in China that took the lives of 70,000 in just a few minutes
• California wildfires that are not being brought under control
• An economy that is teetering on the edge of disaster
• Gasoline/oil prices rising almost daily
• Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that just won’t end
• Iran’s president ranting and raving like a madman
• The collapse of a major bank in California
• The news media spreading fear like it was truth
And the list goes on and on and seems to grow daily.
If I understand biblical prophecy at all, these are the beginning of sorrows (Matthew 24:8) and we have not seen the worst yet. Does it seem to you that the tempo of disastrous events and change in the world is picking up?
As I reflected on the stressful times and was praying about circumstances that we are facing, the Lord led me to a wonderful promise. This is a word from the Lord that is as emphatic in its declaration of God’s care for us as the times we live in are difficult.
This is a powerful truth to wrap your arms around and hold tightly.
Hebrews 13:5-6 (NKJV):
Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
So we may boldly say: “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”
In the King James Version the word conduct is translated conversation. Conversation used in this way is an obsolete English way of saying conduct or behavior. The meaning here is clear and we understand that we are not to be driven by a desire to get things, to clutch and grasp at material things, for we have been promised something far greater.
This is an emphatic promise. In the original language, it would read something like this, “For He Himself has said, ‘I will not, I will not cease to sustain and uphold you; I will not abandon you or leave you helpless in dangerous or hostile circumstances.’”
We could properly read it this way, “I will not, I will not, I will not let you down, leave you in the lurch, leave you helpless or abandon you.”
How many times in Scripture do we read that the Father gets this strong and direct with us? For Him to repeat three times, “I will not!” means He doesn’t want us to miss the message. He is declaring, “For He Himself has said, I am not going to run off and leave you like that loved one did just when you needed him most; he didn’t follow through even though he said he loved you. I’m not going to break your heart and leave you alone, helpless and without defense. I am not going to make a promise and then not follow through. I will not, I will not, I will not!”
I am not a perfect dad, not by any stretch of the imagination or use of flowery language. There were times when I raised my voice to my children. (I tried that once with Carol and after I did, I didn’t see her for a week. On the eighth day, I was able to get my left eye open just a little.) I tried not to raise my voice with my daughters when I was upset about something, but only when I wanted them to understand how strongly I felt about the subject under discussion—not in anger, but only in intensity.
I believe the repetition in this verse is God raising His voice and showing His intensity because He wants us to get the message. He is not raising His voice in anger but just like a loving father, He is reassuring His children who are being buffeted on all sides and wondering what is next. Wondering if, in this developing catastrophe, we are going to suddenly be abandoned, lied to and let down by Him, too.
Sometimes the only way to quiet a tumultuous situation is to speak loudly and sharply enough to cut through the commotion and confusion. He raises His voice to cut through the chaos so that He can get our attention.
When confusion, anxiety and fear are all around, then God speaks directly to you and says, “I will not, I WILL NOT, I WILL NOT abandon you, leave you helpless and without defense. I WILL NOT!”
(One of my sermons, "The Peter Principle" has been posted on the web site of a church I recently visited in Great Bend, KS. If you are courageous enough to listen here is the website www.faith4greatbend.com
Simply click on Sermons and then on the name of yours truly.)
Thursday, July 10, 2008
AN EPISCOPAL MUSLIM?
The Rev. Ann Holmes Redding is an Episcopal priest in Seattle.
She is also a Muslim—or so she says.
The Episcopal Church says: Time out.
Redding has been told by Episcopal authorities that she cannot serve as a priest for a year. During that time, she is expected to “reflect on the doctrines of the Christian faith, her vocation as a priest, and the conflicts inherent in professing both Christianity and Islam.” Redding was the Director of Faith Formation at St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral in Seattle. She announced that she’d become a Muslim—yet still regarded herself to be an Episcopalian. She said she found nothing incompatible in the two faith traditions, adding: “Since entering Islam, I have been, by my own estimation, a better teacher, a better preacher and a better Christian.”
Not long ago I read the above news story on the online edition of the Dallas Morning News. I was piqued by the schizophrenic comments of the Christian/Muslim minister from Seattle and the pathetic response from her diocese.
I have no difficulty at all with women being in leadership positions in the church and in being ordained to public ministry. I am aware that there is still plenty of heated dialogue going on within the church as a whole and as I have written before, the protestant/evangelical world is full of chauvinism and that’s not likely to go away.
No one who is a committed Christian could make the statement that this woman is making. “Since entering Islam, I have been…a better Christian.” I always enjoy the comments made after a controversial article appears; so many writers of these comments think that being vulgar is being cool. It isn’t, but in the interest of free speech, we keep letting them remind us of how great our freedom really is. Tucked among the purveyors of four-letter words there are usually some interesting and humorous comments. One of the online comments about this news story was, “This is like saying, I am a strict vegetarian and, oh, by the way, could I please have a bacon cheeseburger?” Well said!
There is nothing harmonious or compatible between the teachings of Islam and Christianity. Islam teaches that Jesus was a prophet (nothing more) and was on a level below that of the prophet Mohammed. Jesus teaches that there is only one way to God and it is not through Mohammed or any other self-proclaimed or publicly-elected demagogue.
Jesus’ friend, Peter, tried to serve two masters. When Jesus came to the disciples walking on the water and Peter asked for permission to join Him, Peter did not understand that in so doing, a discrepancy in his faith walk was about to be revealed. After Peter got out of the boat and onto the water, he began to sink. Jesus quickly rescued him with the words, “Oh you of little faith, why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14:31). The word doubt means to stand divided. Peter’s duplicity was revealed and Jesus showed him that it had to be gotten rid of.
Peter, like some in the church today, was trying to please and follow the Lord and also please and follow the world system at the same time. “For you will either love the one and hate the other, or you will hate the one and love the other” (see Matthew 6:24 and Luke 16:13). To try and do both is a sinking proposition.
A Christian and a Muslim at the same time?—I don’t think so! To the confused Muslimiscopal (I just made that up) in Seattle…a discrepancy in your faith walk has appeared. Time to ask Jesus for help!
P.S. If you live in Seattle, I think I would go somewhere else for “faith formation”…just a thought.
She is also a Muslim—or so she says.
The Episcopal Church says: Time out.
Redding has been told by Episcopal authorities that she cannot serve as a priest for a year. During that time, she is expected to “reflect on the doctrines of the Christian faith, her vocation as a priest, and the conflicts inherent in professing both Christianity and Islam.” Redding was the Director of Faith Formation at St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral in Seattle. She announced that she’d become a Muslim—yet still regarded herself to be an Episcopalian. She said she found nothing incompatible in the two faith traditions, adding: “Since entering Islam, I have been, by my own estimation, a better teacher, a better preacher and a better Christian.”
Not long ago I read the above news story on the online edition of the Dallas Morning News. I was piqued by the schizophrenic comments of the Christian/Muslim minister from Seattle and the pathetic response from her diocese.
I have no difficulty at all with women being in leadership positions in the church and in being ordained to public ministry. I am aware that there is still plenty of heated dialogue going on within the church as a whole and as I have written before, the protestant/evangelical world is full of chauvinism and that’s not likely to go away.
No one who is a committed Christian could make the statement that this woman is making. “Since entering Islam, I have been…a better Christian.” I always enjoy the comments made after a controversial article appears; so many writers of these comments think that being vulgar is being cool. It isn’t, but in the interest of free speech, we keep letting them remind us of how great our freedom really is. Tucked among the purveyors of four-letter words there are usually some interesting and humorous comments. One of the online comments about this news story was, “This is like saying, I am a strict vegetarian and, oh, by the way, could I please have a bacon cheeseburger?” Well said!
There is nothing harmonious or compatible between the teachings of Islam and Christianity. Islam teaches that Jesus was a prophet (nothing more) and was on a level below that of the prophet Mohammed. Jesus teaches that there is only one way to God and it is not through Mohammed or any other self-proclaimed or publicly-elected demagogue.
Jesus’ friend, Peter, tried to serve two masters. When Jesus came to the disciples walking on the water and Peter asked for permission to join Him, Peter did not understand that in so doing, a discrepancy in his faith walk was about to be revealed. After Peter got out of the boat and onto the water, he began to sink. Jesus quickly rescued him with the words, “Oh you of little faith, why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14:31). The word doubt means to stand divided. Peter’s duplicity was revealed and Jesus showed him that it had to be gotten rid of.
Peter, like some in the church today, was trying to please and follow the Lord and also please and follow the world system at the same time. “For you will either love the one and hate the other, or you will hate the one and love the other” (see Matthew 6:24 and Luke 16:13). To try and do both is a sinking proposition.
A Christian and a Muslim at the same time?—I don’t think so! To the confused Muslimiscopal (I just made that up) in Seattle…a discrepancy in your faith walk has appeared. Time to ask Jesus for help!
P.S. If you live in Seattle, I think I would go somewhere else for “faith formation”…just a thought.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
WHERE ARE THE CROWDS?
Jesus never asked, “How do I attract a crowd?” But this is a question that is very much on the minds of pastors and leaders today. The average attendance for 177,000 churches in the United States (60 percent of all churches) is less than 99 per week. Our culture has inappropriately glorified the importance of the “mega-church” and inadvertently hurt and frustrated many pastors. Pastors of smaller churches are made to feel that if they can’t build a church running in the hundreds or thousands then they’re failures! Our cultural preoccupation with numbers, growth and size has caused many to forget that the church’s primary mission is about reaching and ministering to people.
In the average American city, the population density is very close to 4,000 per square mile. In some of the megacities, the density reaches about 26,000 per square mile. What this means, in most communities, is that within a one-mile radius of every church, about 16,000 people live.
A poll on church attendance conducted by ABC Television several years ago concluded that 65 percent of Americans never attend church. I live in an area that is considered to be the “buckle of the Bible Belt.” According to the latest statistics in Collin County, Texas (a suburb of Dallas), just under 65 percent of the people have no church affiliation and on an average Sunday, only about 19 percent of my neighbors attend a church of any kind. In California and Florida, the number of people weekly attending church falls to about 14 percent and when you factor in age, you find that the younger people are, the less inclined they are to attend.
Not really encouraging stats! What they tell us is that the church is losing the battle for people and the nation is becoming increasingly secular.
So why did I make the statement that Jesus never asked, “How do I attract a crowd?” Because He never did ask it; He knew all along where they were. They were in the same place in His day as they are in ours.
Matthew 9:35-38 “Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.’”
Jesus never waited for the people to come to Him. A few times they did so, but mostly He went to them where they lived, into their homes, to their weddings, into their marketplaces, and He engaged them in ministry where they were.
Jesus did this because He actually cared about people. “He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.”
So where are the crowds for your church, the one you attend? I believe that most of them are within one or two miles of your church facility. The issue is not where they are, but how we are going to reach to them.
Has heaven stopped being the source of creativity for us? I don’t think so! Why not ask Him about some creative ways for you and your church to use to show your community what real Christian love and compassion is. A church in our area recently had a special night to reach out to single mothers. They got the word out and dozens of young mothers who had no connection with their church showed up on a Monday night. The single moms were warmly greeted in the parking lot by members of the church who showed them where to park and escorted them inside. The church’s multi-purpose room had been turned into a salon/spa for the evening with stylists who washed, cut and styled their hair and others who helped them with their make-up. Every visitor was given a gift bag with all sorts of personal grooming goodies in it. They all were made to feel very welcome and were shown that this church cared about them and was there for them and their children.
If Jesus could go to their weddings, eat at their tables, engage prostitutes, adulterers and cheats in conversation that leads to ministry, then surely we can do the same.
Let me leave you with one more statistic to finish this boring treatise. Dr. Thom Ranier in his book, “The Unchurched Next Door,” gives the most startling statistic of all. Dr. Ranier’s research team talked with people who never attend church. One of the questions asked was, “Would you consider attending church?” Eighty percent replied, “Yes, I would consider attending, if only somebody would ask me!” The vast majority indicated that they would not respond to media advertising but they would give careful consideration to a personal invitation from a friend, a neighbor, a co-worker, a schoolmate, someone who would personally talk to them.
So where are the crowds? Where they’ve always been—right outside your door!
In the average American city, the population density is very close to 4,000 per square mile. In some of the megacities, the density reaches about 26,000 per square mile. What this means, in most communities, is that within a one-mile radius of every church, about 16,000 people live.
A poll on church attendance conducted by ABC Television several years ago concluded that 65 percent of Americans never attend church. I live in an area that is considered to be the “buckle of the Bible Belt.” According to the latest statistics in Collin County, Texas (a suburb of Dallas), just under 65 percent of the people have no church affiliation and on an average Sunday, only about 19 percent of my neighbors attend a church of any kind. In California and Florida, the number of people weekly attending church falls to about 14 percent and when you factor in age, you find that the younger people are, the less inclined they are to attend.
Not really encouraging stats! What they tell us is that the church is losing the battle for people and the nation is becoming increasingly secular.
So why did I make the statement that Jesus never asked, “How do I attract a crowd?” Because He never did ask it; He knew all along where they were. They were in the same place in His day as they are in ours.
Matthew 9:35-38 “Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.’”
Jesus never waited for the people to come to Him. A few times they did so, but mostly He went to them where they lived, into their homes, to their weddings, into their marketplaces, and He engaged them in ministry where they were.
Jesus did this because He actually cared about people. “He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.”
So where are the crowds for your church, the one you attend? I believe that most of them are within one or two miles of your church facility. The issue is not where they are, but how we are going to reach to them.
Has heaven stopped being the source of creativity for us? I don’t think so! Why not ask Him about some creative ways for you and your church to use to show your community what real Christian love and compassion is. A church in our area recently had a special night to reach out to single mothers. They got the word out and dozens of young mothers who had no connection with their church showed up on a Monday night. The single moms were warmly greeted in the parking lot by members of the church who showed them where to park and escorted them inside. The church’s multi-purpose room had been turned into a salon/spa for the evening with stylists who washed, cut and styled their hair and others who helped them with their make-up. Every visitor was given a gift bag with all sorts of personal grooming goodies in it. They all were made to feel very welcome and were shown that this church cared about them and was there for them and their children.
If Jesus could go to their weddings, eat at their tables, engage prostitutes, adulterers and cheats in conversation that leads to ministry, then surely we can do the same.
Let me leave you with one more statistic to finish this boring treatise. Dr. Thom Ranier in his book, “The Unchurched Next Door,” gives the most startling statistic of all. Dr. Ranier’s research team talked with people who never attend church. One of the questions asked was, “Would you consider attending church?” Eighty percent replied, “Yes, I would consider attending, if only somebody would ask me!” The vast majority indicated that they would not respond to media advertising but they would give careful consideration to a personal invitation from a friend, a neighbor, a co-worker, a schoolmate, someone who would personally talk to them.
So where are the crowds? Where they’ve always been—right outside your door!
Friday, July 4, 2008
INNAPPROPRIATE EXPECTATION
Several evenings ago Carol and I were visiting friends. I glanced at the television which was tuned to a 24-hour news station and saw what appeared to be the scene of an explosion in New York City. Crawling across the bottom of the screen were words that alluded to “explosion, injuries, death, possible terrorism.” The anxiety level of America and possibly the western world skyrocketed for a few minutes. Eventually it was discovered that a steam pipe, nearly one hundred years old and buried eight or ten feet underground, had ruptured with great force.
We live in a world that breeds fear and anxiety. No matter where you turn, it seems as though there is a catastrophe rising, or at least the newscasters say there is. The news media has such a negative outlook that virtually everything is viewed with the idea, “How can we sensationalize this?” Take the evening news for example; newspeople no longer report the news, they allege to report the news and the news they think is behind the news. It is done in such a way as to cast aspersions on whomever they can find. This kind of negative spin takes an accident and elevates it to a disaster; it takes a spring thunderstorm and elevates it to an impending life-threatening, killer storm; it takes an obscure report by an unknown group of “experts” and projects it as though it is certifiable truth.
The Bible has some interesting things to say about the times we live in. Luke 21:26: “Men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of heaven will be shaken.”
While the scriptures do say that there will be an increase of catastrophic events and life will become more and more difficult in the end times, this verse seems to say that men’s hearts will fail not because of the actual events but because of the “fear and the expectation” that a disaster of some kind may be coming their way. And if you watch the evening news and listen too much to talk radio, you may just feel like the whole world is going to hell in a hand basket, and it is happening “right now.” If it’s not the conservatives whining about the cataclysmic disasters that the liberals are creating, then it’s the liberals whining about the catastrophic disaster the conservatives have created. Enough already! Both political parties are embarrassing, money-grubbing publicity mongers.
The word fear that is used in Luke 21:26 means to live in dread, to be terror-stricken. This kind of fear causes one to see unfounded evil coming at them from all directions. We get the English word phobia from the Greek word for fear and phobia means “an exaggerated and usually illogical fear of an event or item.”
So, what’s God’s message for us in a moment like this? Psalm 46 is about as comforting and straight to the point as any passage in the Bible. I will only give you the first three verses. You need to drink in the remainder on you own.
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, Even though the earth be removed, And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though its waters roar and be troubled. Though the mountains shake with its swelling” (NKJ).
Refuge
The Hebrew word here is sometimes translated to mean “fleeing to a shelter with the idea of tarrying there for protection” (see Psalm 57:1). The word is sometimes translated “trusting” (see Psalm 37:40). The primary idea is that a place is not a refuge unless you can trust it. The word is also sometimes translated “hope.” This would tell us that the word refuge embraces the idea that it is a place we can flee to, knowing that we can trust.
Strength
The word strength that is used here has powerful meanings. Among several, it means to be vehement as a wind, like the wind that divided the waters of the Red Sea. It also means “to provide defense and refuge.” When we are weak, He is strong! God is not just a hiding place for us in times of stress; He is a calming strength for us to draw on.
Very present help
Not just somewhere in our neighborhood, He is right there with us at all times.
I am a father of two children. My daughters know that I am available to help them whenever they need it; all they have to do is call. Several times during the last 20 years Carol and I have lived 1200 to 1500 miles away from our children. We could give advice on the phone and, if need be, get on a plane and be with our children within 6 to 10 hours. Now that we live close, it would still be 15 or 20 minutes before we could get to their house in a time of urgent need. Too often we relegate our understanding of God and how He works to what we understand in the natural, and that is a mistake on our part. You need to embrace the fact that God is there with you all the time. You respond to that, saying, “I don’t understand how that can be”…but you don’t need to understand! God is God and you are not. There are lots of things about God and His ways that we, in our natural minds, are incapable of totally thinking through and grasping. God said, “I will be a very present help in trouble.” Therefore, He is.
God’s promise to His people is that He will be a trustworthy place of safety, a mighty strength for us to draw on, and that He will be a very (meaning abundant) real presence in times of stress and trouble.
“God is….therefore we will not fear!” Have a great week!
We live in a world that breeds fear and anxiety. No matter where you turn, it seems as though there is a catastrophe rising, or at least the newscasters say there is. The news media has such a negative outlook that virtually everything is viewed with the idea, “How can we sensationalize this?” Take the evening news for example; newspeople no longer report the news, they allege to report the news and the news they think is behind the news. It is done in such a way as to cast aspersions on whomever they can find. This kind of negative spin takes an accident and elevates it to a disaster; it takes a spring thunderstorm and elevates it to an impending life-threatening, killer storm; it takes an obscure report by an unknown group of “experts” and projects it as though it is certifiable truth.
The Bible has some interesting things to say about the times we live in. Luke 21:26: “Men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of heaven will be shaken.”
While the scriptures do say that there will be an increase of catastrophic events and life will become more and more difficult in the end times, this verse seems to say that men’s hearts will fail not because of the actual events but because of the “fear and the expectation” that a disaster of some kind may be coming their way. And if you watch the evening news and listen too much to talk radio, you may just feel like the whole world is going to hell in a hand basket, and it is happening “right now.” If it’s not the conservatives whining about the cataclysmic disasters that the liberals are creating, then it’s the liberals whining about the catastrophic disaster the conservatives have created. Enough already! Both political parties are embarrassing, money-grubbing publicity mongers.
The word fear that is used in Luke 21:26 means to live in dread, to be terror-stricken. This kind of fear causes one to see unfounded evil coming at them from all directions. We get the English word phobia from the Greek word for fear and phobia means “an exaggerated and usually illogical fear of an event or item.”
So, what’s God’s message for us in a moment like this? Psalm 46 is about as comforting and straight to the point as any passage in the Bible. I will only give you the first three verses. You need to drink in the remainder on you own.
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, Even though the earth be removed, And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though its waters roar and be troubled. Though the mountains shake with its swelling” (NKJ).
Refuge
The Hebrew word here is sometimes translated to mean “fleeing to a shelter with the idea of tarrying there for protection” (see Psalm 57:1). The word is sometimes translated “trusting” (see Psalm 37:40). The primary idea is that a place is not a refuge unless you can trust it. The word is also sometimes translated “hope.” This would tell us that the word refuge embraces the idea that it is a place we can flee to, knowing that we can trust.
Strength
The word strength that is used here has powerful meanings. Among several, it means to be vehement as a wind, like the wind that divided the waters of the Red Sea. It also means “to provide defense and refuge.” When we are weak, He is strong! God is not just a hiding place for us in times of stress; He is a calming strength for us to draw on.
Very present help
Not just somewhere in our neighborhood, He is right there with us at all times.
I am a father of two children. My daughters know that I am available to help them whenever they need it; all they have to do is call. Several times during the last 20 years Carol and I have lived 1200 to 1500 miles away from our children. We could give advice on the phone and, if need be, get on a plane and be with our children within 6 to 10 hours. Now that we live close, it would still be 15 or 20 minutes before we could get to their house in a time of urgent need. Too often we relegate our understanding of God and how He works to what we understand in the natural, and that is a mistake on our part. You need to embrace the fact that God is there with you all the time. You respond to that, saying, “I don’t understand how that can be”…but you don’t need to understand! God is God and you are not. There are lots of things about God and His ways that we, in our natural minds, are incapable of totally thinking through and grasping. God said, “I will be a very present help in trouble.” Therefore, He is.
God’s promise to His people is that He will be a trustworthy place of safety, a mighty strength for us to draw on, and that He will be a very (meaning abundant) real presence in times of stress and trouble.
“God is….therefore we will not fear!” Have a great week!
Thursday, July 3, 2008
THE CHICKEN MAN
This past Sunday, June 29, I celebrated my 39th(with 25 years of experience)birthday.
Our family gathered at one of the best fried chicken restaurants in the Dallas area. A down home Texas style place called Babe's.
During the dinner and the fun the servers came to the table to sing "Happy Birthday" to me. They insisted that I join them but only if I would put a chicken hat on and flap my arms like they were chicken wings.
Being a reformed Canadian I thoroughly enjoy making a fool of myself. Carol, of course, had to preserve my performance for posterity by taking a picture.
My daughters then double dog dared me, their loving and kind father, to publish the photo on my blog. If they had simply dared me I would have figured out a way to say yes but have really meant no, (I've worked for evangelists for so long that that kind of double speak is easy to figure out) but a double dog dare......that's just too much!
So here we are. The photo is only going to be up for 24 hours, from noon on Thursday, July 3.
Please keep all sarcastic comments to yourself, unless it's funny!
Have a happy July 4th
David
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